The Sharp-shinned Hawk migrates to these areas and accumulates residues. Goshawk has slow, deliberate, deep and rather elastic wingbeats in which the wings are clearly and evenly flapped both above and below the horizontal. The image of a Northern Goshawk adorned the helmet of Attila the Hun. Northern Goshawk – Breeding. Goshawks hunt inside the forest or along its edge; they take their prey by putting on short bursts of amazingly fast flight, often twisting among branches and crashing through thickets in the intensity of pursuit. They have broad, rounded wings and long tails. A powerful predator of northern and mountain woods. Head is dark with thick, white eyebrows and red eyes. Northern Goshawk in Flight Interesting Fact The genus name being “ Accipiter ”, meaning “hawk”, has come from the word “Accipere” meaning “to grasp” and the Latin name “ gentilis ” … Relatively long secondary flight feathers give the trailing edge of the wing a curved or bulging look; the wingtips can look pointed in flight. This creates a rather flappy action, often described as ‘crow-like’. It’s an accipiter—a type of hawk with short, broad wings and a long rudderlike tail that give it superb aerial agility. Ellie, a northern goshawk owned by Lloyd and Rose Buck in England, tucks in her wings and streaks through narrow openings at high speed. The bird inhabits dense northern forests and maneuvers through impossibly tight spaces in pursuit of prey. This combination of larger size and heavier structure gives Northern Goshawk a stronger, steadier flight and a more powerful wing action than Eurasian Sparrowhawk. The Northern Goshawk is the bigger, fiercer, wilder relative of the Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks that prowl suburbs and backyards. No need to register, buy now! Nominated in the Melvita Nature Images Awards competition 2014. The Goshawk (Accipiter gentiles), is a medium-large bird. About; Team; Contact; References; Copyright and Privacy; Family These secretive birds are mostly gray with bold white “eyebrow” stripes over piercing orange to red eyes. Love seeing these strong solid accipiters in flight. Note bulging crops on a couple of these birds. North American Breeding Distribution and Relative Abundance: A Holarctic species, in North America the Northern Goshawk is widely distributed across the boreal forest region from Alaska, across Canada, and south into the northern Great Lakes states, New England, and the western United States. Northern Goshawk Accipiter g. gentilis, 1CY BIF1478, 15/12/2010, Leipzig, Germany, Mathias Putze same as BIF1479 Adults and juveniles.